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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
Despite the comedic sounding title, which conjures up images of that funny 1950s tv show, this is a serious novel dealing with real issues. Harriet Chance is preparing to take her husband's ashes with her on an Alaskan cruise. As she prepares to depart, she basks in her fond memories of him and their 56 years of marriage. But how honest is she being with herself? How much of a rosy glow has she painted over her 78 years?
It turns out that Harriet has the uncanny ability to forget the difficulties, overlook the transgressions and only remember the good times. Like my mum, she just wants everyone to make happy noises and her memories are like a photo album - with everyone smiling for the camera despite their true feelings or dire situations.
But the cruise holiday reveals some truths that Harriet can no longer ignore and she comes face-to-face with her own life, both the choices she made and the secrets she buried. In the end, her life has been a facade built to hide her unhappiness, disappointments and shame.
Told through a series of seemingly random flashbacks, we fly forward and backward through Harriet's life, which gives the effect of Harriet remembering certain moments of the past just as their repercussions come full circle during the cruise. The flashbacks often are told in the off-putting second person, which initially grated on me, but which eventually proved to be the perfect way to personalize the story.
This book could be seen as a warning against a life spent making happy noises, instagram posts and pretending that all is exactly as you wanted it. But really, if you were to look closely, putting all pride and shame aside, you might see significant mistakes, opportunities missed, and errors in judgement. All of us have these weighing on us but so few look with a critical eye until it is too late.
The only part which didn't work for me were the few chapters where her husband, Bernard, seemed to be having ghostly discussions in some sort of limbo in the hereafter. They were odd and didn't seem to be needed.
It turns out that Harriet has the uncanny ability to forget the difficulties, overlook the transgressions and only remember the good times. Like my mum, she just wants everyone to make happy noises and her memories are like a photo album - with everyone smiling for the camera despite their true feelings or dire situations.
But the cruise holiday reveals some truths that Harriet can no longer ignore and she comes face-to-face with her own life, both the choices she made and the secrets she buried. In the end, her life has been a facade built to hide her unhappiness, disappointments and shame.
Told through a series of seemingly random flashbacks, we fly forward and backward through Harriet's life, which gives the effect of Harriet remembering certain moments of the past just as their repercussions come full circle during the cruise. The flashbacks often are told in the off-putting second person, which initially grated on me, but which eventually proved to be the perfect way to personalize the story.
This book could be seen as a warning against a life spent making happy noises, instagram posts and pretending that all is exactly as you wanted it. But really, if you were to look closely, putting all pride and shame aside, you might see significant mistakes, opportunities missed, and errors in judgement. All of us have these weighing on us but so few look with a critical eye until it is too late.
The only part which didn't work for me were the few chapters where her husband, Bernard, seemed to be having ghostly discussions in some sort of limbo in the hereafter. They were odd and didn't seem to be needed.
The constant time changes did not work. There wasn’t enough substance to this story to justify its clumsy construction.
I must be in a lazy read spree. This is a good read if you need a filler or want a relaxing easy read.
The book goes back and forth in time, which can be confusing, but the narrator does a nice job of making it fun. The characters all have depth, however I don't feel like the ending was satisfactory. Harriet finds out some bad sh** on a cruise and I don't know how she kept it together. I just she was just at the age of F it, what good would throwing a fit do.
The book goes back and forth in time, which can be confusing, but the narrator does a nice job of making it fun. The characters all have depth, however I don't feel like the ending was satisfactory. Harriet finds out some bad sh** on a cruise and I don't know how she kept it together. I just she was just at the age of F it, what good would throwing a fit do.
I don't know if I love women written by men. Parts of this book seemed genuine and vital and parts felt far-fetched and superlative. Not to mention the style is a bit chaotic to follow. I feel "meh" about it.
This book is written simply, but it made me sad in a very quiet and understated way, and I appreciate that. The last few pages really caught me, and there were moments where my mouth actually dropped open. Altogether, enjoyable!
Hated this book. The characters were shallow and the settings didn't ring true. I also found the narrator's overt disgust for the main character extremely tiresome. I'm not sure if the author intended this to be social commentary, but it fell short.
And WHY even include the husband??
And WHY even include the husband??
I liked the structure of this, but otherwise felt that the real book was Harriet's other life, the one she didn't pursue.
This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! certainly has some charming aspects (our 78-year-old protagonist calls everyone 'dear', drinks too much and talks to her ghost husband) but doesn't quite work overall. I enjoyed the talk show style narrator until I didn't. The tone is snarky and the book is dark. There is a lot of heart in this book but it's let down by the narrator in the final third. Ultimately, the gimick highlights the artifice of the concept. This is a life stripped bare but not one that offers much hope or promise.